UNAWE Latest News (updates, space scoop and press releases)http://es.unawe.org/news/esFri, 01 Dec 2017 19:00:00 +0100Flashing Lights in Jupiter’s Skyhttp://es.unawe.org/kids/unawe1734/en/<p>All around the world people enjoy watching fireworks, whether it's 5th November or 4th July, Chinese New Year or Diwali.</p>
<p>But nature offers an even more impressive light show. Thanks to the planets&rsquo; <a href="http://www.spacescoop.org/en/words/magnetic-field/" target="_blank">magnetic fields</a> and violent explosions of energy on our Sun, we have the&nbsp;&ldquo;aurora&rdquo;.</p>
<p>The aurora are shimmering curtains of glowing light that dance across the night sky at the north and south poles. They can be seen on some of the planets in our Solar System, painting the skies in reds, blues, greens and even <a href="http://www.spacescoop.org/en/words/x-ray/" target="_blank">X-rays</a>. This picture shows X-ray aurora that have been seen for the first time, lighting up Jupiter&rsquo;s north and south poles.</p>
<p>Until recently, we thought that anything that affects one part of a planet&rsquo;s magnetic field would affect the magnetic field of the whole planet. It would explain why the aurora at the north and south poles on Earth mirror each other. But Jupiter isn&rsquo;t playing by these rules &mdash; aurora on Jupiter behave differently at each pole.</p>
<p>The aurora at Jupiter&rsquo;s south pole flash X-rays every 11 minutes or so, like clockwork. While the&nbsp;north pole seems to brighten and dim at random.</p>
<p>Astronomers aren&rsquo;t sure exactly what&rsquo;s causing this odd behaviour, but it&rsquo;s something they&rsquo;re keen to puzzle out.</p>
<p>Magnetic fields around planets block dangerous particles from the Sun and stars and keep their atmospheres from being lost to space. As far as we know, life can&rsquo;t exist on a planet without an atmosphere. So, if we can see aurora on planets outside the Solar System, it will give us a clue as to whether these planets could have alien life on them!</p>Fri, 01 Dec 2017 19:00:00 +0100http://es.unawe.org/kids/unawe1734/en/Our Nearest Star is Looking More and More Familiarhttp://es.unawe.org/kids/unawe1733/en/<p>Life in the Universe doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean aliens &ndash; it could mean us.</p>
<p>So far, no extraterrestrial life has visited the Earth, but humans haven&rsquo;t traveled out into the Universe either. Will we ever have the chance to leave our Solar System and explore deep space?</p>
<p>If we did, the obvious destination would be the nearest star to our Solar System, <a href="http://www.spacescoop.org/en/scoops/1618/could-aliens-be-closer-than-we-thought/" target="_blank">Proxima Centauri</a>.</p>
<p>With current rocket technology, it would take us tens of millions of years to reach the star. But a new project, called the Starshot Project, plans to lower the travel time to just 20 years.</p>
<p>Using dozens of powerful lasers scientist plan to propel miniature space probes towards the star at speeds of about 60,000 kilometres a second. At that speed it would take less than 7 seconds to get to the Moon!</p>
<p>But is Proxima Centauri even worth visiting?</p>
<p>With every new picture, it seems the space around this star grows more interesting and exciting. Last year a rocky planet similar to the Earth was discovered orbiting the star. Recently, we discovered that the star was surrounded by loops in space called &ldquo;dust belts&rdquo;, filled with fragments of rock and ice.</p>
<p>Dust belts are surprisingly familiar, our own Solar System is home to two such regions called the Asteroid Belt and the <a href="http://www.spacescoop.org/en/scoops/1526/view-of-a-toddler-solar-system/" target="_blank">Kuiper Belt</a>. These areas contain the spare parts of our Solar System, material that did not form into larger objects such as planets or moons.</p>
<p>These rocky belts tell us that Proxima Centauri is probably home to more than just a single planet, even though that&rsquo;s all we&rsquo;ve been able to detect so far.</p>
<p>The discovery will also help with the future Starshot Project. A precise knowledge of the space around the star is essential for planning a safe and successful mission.</p>Fri, 17 Nov 2017 16:38:45 +0100http://es.unawe.org/kids/unawe1733/en/